mortal_one's Poker Journey

Finding my way through life and poker.
(Through the shuffling madness)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Poker in a Post-Allegedly-Ponzi World

No, this will not be some insightful, informative post on where the online poker industry is at present. Quite frankly, I could care less about online poker at this point. I do still play the occasional game with my son, but it is not really challenging me at all. I am out of work, with no bankroll, and a place to play poker only 20 minutes away. Is this the definition of hell? Maybe if I was as poker obsessed as I was 4 or 5 years ago, the answer would be yes. I am finding I can live without poker. Not that I want a pokerless existence.

The main problem I have seen and continue to see with online poker is not getting the website to run a clean game and keep their books straight. The main problem is cheating players. And it is not just that they cheat. It is the erosion of trust the sites have because they allow cheating to go on. This is the reason that when I was playing with real money, I was playing the lowest stakes (that and lack of bankroll). Why would I want to play in the middle or upper levels when I know there are easy ways to cheat and get away with it. I don't consider myself too much of a mark. I am always trying to figure out how thing can be done and cheating with online poker seems to be a fairly easy thing to do.

Legislation: Do states really believe they can make money with online poker limited to their own state? I am not sure how. The big sights had one thing going for them. They had tons of players, at all hours of the day and night. You wanted to play a game, it was there. With State-limited poker, there would be a lot fewer players out there, fewer games, fewer dollars to rake. And cheating would still occur.

What is the solution to online poker? I don't know. At the very least it needs to be heavily regulated, audited, and policed. I think the best level to do this in the US is to do it at the national level.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Poker Dream or My Dreams of Winning the WSOP Dashed.

Last night I had an interesting poker dream.

I was entered in the WSOP Main Event. There were so many entrants that my starting table and about 15 others were in a "back room" somewhere in the Rio. The dealers were shady and took breaks when they felt like it. I did not recognize any of the players. What was even sketchier about the whole situation is that they didn't have enough tournament chips so some of my chips were Monopoly houses and hotels.

I would step away from the table and this one player who was way down on chips sat in my seat and tried to take over my chips. The dealer did nothing. I called the floor over and he said there was nothing in the rules to prevent it. At this point, I see AlCantHang over at another table talking with someone he knew. I tried to get his attention so I could explain what was happening. Al gave me a very disdainful look, apparently because I knew his name and did not have the SoCo to back it up. So he left.

At this point, the table is broken up and I am told I will be moving to a table in the main room. My chips are not counted or bagged. They are left on the table with chips from two other players. These two teenagers instead start pushing the table to the main room. I am following, because I do not trust them. They are pushing the table through the casino and at one point the table bumps the corner of a slot machine and some of my chips fall off. The table pushing teens ignore this and push the table faster. I grab the chips off the floor and continue my pursuit.

I lose sight of the table. And I come to an unmarked fork in the hallway. I ask someone which way the main room is and am pointed to the left. I follow the hallway up and come into a bar overlooking the main room just in time to see my table and chips come in through an entrance below. The teens stop the table and look at each other and grin. I know what they are going to do. I climb up on the railing and leap down. But I am too late to stop the teens from pushing 3 players worth of chips onto the floor mine included.

I am told by the tournament director that since the chips were not real chips and that they were mixed in with other players chips that I was disqualified. I start screaming at the TD and wake up.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Bits & Pieces

I am always amazed (and I shouldn't be) that my pageviews go up this time of year. I think I went through most of the WSOP season and did not post once. Do I still like poker? Yes. But since the "reputable", and I use that term very loosely these days, poker sites are either under investigation, under indictment, or just plain shady, I have played little poker lately.

Why don't I just find a home game or visit the Poker Room that is 20 minutes from my house you say? Well, I have this little employment problem. I have no job, so I have no money, so I have no bankroll. Yes, I could play with my kids, but I don't feel like losing on purpose and I don't feel like dealing with them getting upset when they lose.

I did get to see some of ESPN's coverage of this year's WSOP. I kind of liked it. It was quieter, smarter, and not "in my face". I wasn't told that the team name from every college was "The Rambling Wreck". It was poker, almost the way it is actually played.

Can anyone name Penn National Gaming's top earning casino? The answer is: Hollywood Casino in Charles Town, West Virginia. I won't bore you with the numbers, if you are interested read "The Journal" article here.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Sponser Ad Down

I have taken down the ad for Full Tilt Poker. If they get their $hl# together, I would be more than willing to put it back. I have not heard from a representative of FTP in over a month. And after today's suspension of their license, it seems that their troubles are more than they were letting on. Read more on the suspension here.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

As Predicted

I was definitely dead money (play chips) tonight on PokerStars. I had not played in over a month and had not played at 'Stars in much longer. Oh well, at least I had fun. went out with pocket 4's. I had it until the turn came up with a king.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Death of Online Poker: Day Zero

With the indictments today of the Big Three online Poker providers in the US today, there is a virtual blackout of online play. I am sure you can still feed your urges at some of the smaller sites, but I would not encourage it. This is the reason I have played very little with real money since UIGEA was passed by congress.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

What A Great Day!

This afternoon I went to make a withdrawl from my FTP account. I have done this often enough that it almost seems like clockwork. I make a withdrawl request for a check to be sent to me. It gets approved. And in less than 3 weeks, I have a shiny new check to deposit.

Well, this afternoon that changed. Apparently FTP is having some kind of issue with check withdrawls and will "contact" me by email when it is fixed. Huh? I hope this isn't some kind of UIGEA related problem.

Being unemployed, the meager funds I have at FTP are very helpful. If anyone knows what is going on, please let me know.

Unexpected Turn

I missed playing in WBCOOP. I sent an email to PokerStars because I had two different starting times for the last qualifier yesterday. I of course chose the wrong time. I trusted the website to be correct. It wasn't.

But something unexpected happened. PokerStars sent me 300 FPPs and a ticket to play in a freeroll. While not the WBCOOP, it was something. What I really want to know is why there was a discrepancy in the starting times. I am wondering if it was just me, or did other bloggers have the same thing happen to them. If it did, I am somewhat surprised that I haven't heard anything about it.

I will be keeping an ear open to hear what PokerStars has to say.

To any of my readers who qualified for the WBCOOP main event today: Congratulations and Good Luck!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Well, At Least I'm Consistent

In continuation of my previous post:

I was unable to play in yesterday's WBCOOP due to children playing on my computer. So I was really looking forward to today. According to PokerStars WBCOOP page the tourney starts at 19:00. OK, I have time. I fire up PokerStars and look for the tournament. I can't find it. I request to see my tournament tickets. At the top it shows the tickets, but below, it does not show the tournaments.

So then, I go to the email confirmation they sent me and gee, guess what? They changed the tourney start time to 15:00. Guess what else? It is 17:30! WOW! Thanks PokerStars for making my first time playing at your site in over a year sooooo enjoyable. Any to the bloggers who played; good luck tomorrow in the finals. I didn't get my chance, but you have yours.